Fire and Ice
by rfk1991
Summary: A serial killer who preys on SVU look-a-likes is terrorizing Manhattan! Also, Alex and Casey are forced to work as a team... Squint-and-it's-there EO/AC romance or just friendship: reader decides. **ON BREAK READ AUTHOR'S NOTE CH 8**
1. Polarization

*Hey everyone! I've had this idea running through my head for a while now, and it's finally formulated a plot…YAY! This takes place seasons 10 – 11, after Alex rejoined the squad and Casey was disbarred. I have a pretty good idea of where this story is going, but please review with any ideas you have! Read and review, because reviews MAKE MY LIFE!!!!*

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It was a beautiful day in April; one of the first sunny days of the year, and Alexandra Cabot was sitting outside eating her chicken salad sandwich and bag of chips from Panera Bread. Most of her co-workers were, in Alex's opinion, wimps, and found 50 degrees far too brisk, but the blonde never feared the cold and simply could not resist the sun's beckoning rays. She was listening to some music on her iPhone, "The Beatles Radio" on her Pandora app, and allowing her very stressful morning to melt away.

"Alex…," her boss, Liz Donnelly, practically screamed to overcome the noise of 'Here Comes the Sun,' "What the hell is wrong with you? It's freezing out here!"

"It's not bad," Alex laughed, "I've got a coat on and the sun is out!"

"You're crazy!" Liz retorted with amusement, "But anyway, I have something I need to discuss with you. You free right now?"

"Not really," Alex replied as she glanced at her watch, "I've got closing statements in an hour and a half so I was going to head to the courthouse right after I finish my lunch."

"All right," Liz retorted, feigning aggravation, "Meet me in my office around five."

_Great, just what I want to do on a Friday afternoon_, Alex thought, more pissed at the fact that she was being told, not asked, to meet than at the meeting itself.

Four hours later, closing statements on the Hamm case were completed, and the jury was coming back from an hour-long deliberation. The guilty verdict seemed a formality in this case. They had DNA evidence, a shaky alibi that Alex destroyed beyond repair on cross-examination, and a bruised, convincing victim who had the courage to testify against her attacker. Nevertheless, Alex, Elliot, and Olivia were anxious as the jury reentered the room.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" The judge ceremoniously asked.

"We have, Your Honor," the foreman replied, "We find the defendant, Michael Hamm, guilty on all counts."

"It's almost _unfair_ how brilliant you were!" her best friend Olivia Benson complimented with a small laugh. "Elliot and I were going to head out for celebratory drinks, you in?"

"Thanks, but Liz needs to talk to me about _something_," Alex answered with a slight eye-roll.

"What kind of something?" Elliot prodded, his curiosity taking the better of him.

"No idea," Alex answered, amused at the perplexed faces of her detectives, "But it's probably not going to be something pleasant."

"We'll wait for you and then we can all go out," Elliot answered in a questioning tone, partly out of altruism and partly out of burning curiosity.

"Sure, if you guys don't mind," Alex answered casually, not wanting to be a burden but wanting to unwind later with drinks. Moreover, she could use some moral support. Liz usually never made her nervous, but she couldn't ignore the gut feeling screaming that the meeting would not go well.

With that, Elliot, Olivia and Alex piled into Elliot's blue Ford and drove to the District Attorney's office. Surprisingly, Elliot and Olivia accompanied Alex into the building instead of waiting in the car, further evidence of their now mounting curiosity. As they approached the fifth floor, the jovial trio chatted away until what, or rather who, they saw outside of Liz's office rendered them silent. Elliot and Olivia wore a mix of happiness, confusion, nostalgia and shock on their faces, while Alex, in fear of expressing her true, more negative emotions, froze her expression to ice.

"Well, isn't anyone going to say hi?" former assistant district attorney Casey Novak asked with a nervous smile, trying to quash the awkward silence and look of shock on the faces of her former co-workers. Olivia and Elliot, still shell-shocked, gave their red-headed friend a warm embrace.

"How have you been? We've missed you!" Olivia asked. After slight hesitation, she gently raised the question that had been on everyone's mind: "So, are you back with the DA's office?"

"I was reinstated by the State Bar last week," Casey replied, trying to pretend the situation was perfectly comfortable. "I'm meeting with Liz now to talk jobs."

As if on cue, Liz emerged from her office looking harried and stressed as usual. "Casey, Alex; come in. Your entourage can stay out here," she instructed, giving Olivia and Elliot a look which asked:_ why are you here? Please go away. _Both Alex and Casey shot the detectives nearly identical looks of anxiety and annoyance, causing Elliot and Olivia to suppress slight chuckles until the door of Liz's office was safely closed behind the trio.

*****

*Hope this intro whets your appetite for more! I'm going to TRY and update soon; note that reviews tend to cause my creative juices to flow far more freely!


	2. Breathless

_Hey y'all! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter!!!!! Just to clarify: this is not a Casey/Alex romance story, just a friendship. A couple of the reviews made me realize that some may have thought otherwise. I apologize if I misled any readers; I assure you it was unintentional. Oh: I own NOTHING, I'm just borrowing for the time being!!!_

* * *

Alex and Casey silently entered the office, Alex passive-aggressively ensuring she entered first, and Casey passively-aggressively ensuring she sat in the slightly larger chair. They sat in stark contrast to one another, Alex leaning back with her hand grazing the side of her head, massaging her temple to relieve her impending tension headache, and Casey leaning slightly forward, her hands crossed upon her lap. The tension was suffocating, and Liz, only for a moment, questioned what she was about to do.

"Ladies, thanks for coming," Liz cautiously began, herself feeling on edge from the tense atmosphere, "Casey, I'm reinstating you as of a week from Monday in the DA's office. Right now we have no open positions, so I'm asking the two of you to work together for the time being. No one needs to sit second seat; you can sit co-council, alternate cases, I really don't care which."

Casey and Alex both opened their mouths, about to fiercely object to the arrangement, when Liz interrupted their impending complaints.

"Let me clarify," Liz stated curtly, "By 'ask,' I meant I'm running this arrangement by you out of courtesy and if you don't like it, no one is forcing you to work here. Honestly, I have enough on my plate right now without hearing complaints from my own ADA's."

"How long will this 'arrangement' last?" Alex asked, her icy exterior only slightly melted.

"I'm not quite sure. Best case is only a few months, but rearranging the department is going to be its own special kind of fun, so just be patient," Liz stated, and then continued slightly more jovially, "Well, that's all I wanted to talk to you about. Get out of here, enjoy your weekends!" With that, Liz went back to her paperwork, and Alex and Casey went back to the detectives, each mentally and literally glaring at the other.

Elliot and Olivia shared a look consisting of amusement and discomfort, seeing the pure distain and disgust on their favorite ADA's faces. Quickly, the detectives were caught up on the substance of the meeting, as Alex and Casey were quasi-competitive about who was going to tell the story and kept interrupting each other in the polite, respectful way only lawyers can.

"Don't step between them," Elliot whispered during a break in the narration, "The daggers they're shooting at each other might hit you in the crossfire!" Olivia replied by hitting Elliot playfully on the arm.

"I don't know if this is too short notice," Olivia said, trying to be as welcoming as she could and stem the increasing discomfort, "but we were all gonna head to O'Malley's. You wanna come?"

Casey, slightly taken aback but nevertheless flattered, agreed to join the detectives. While she knew it would more than likely be awkward as hell, the last thing she wanted was to be the odd one out of the group, again. Alex considered making an excuse why she suddenly couldn't go out, but nothing believable came to mind. Besides, to allow Olivia, Elliot and Casey to go out alone without her being able to be control the situation would be to admit defeat. Alex didn't do that so well. So, the two detectives and two ADA's were on their way to O'Malley's to meet Munch, Fin, and Cragen for a wonderful, or potentially uncomfortable, night out, depending on which members of the party one spoke to.

Before the group made it out the door, Olivia and Elliot's phones simultaneously rang in response to calls from Fin and Munch. When the detectives stepped outside, Casey and Alex realized something important was going on; something that would involve them very soon, they both assumed. Their assumptions were given more validity when Olivia and Elliot returned after ten minutes, their faces long and full of anger and anxiety.

"Sorry ladies," Elliot began, "We'll have to take a rain check on the drinks. There's been a situation."

"What happened?" Alex inquired with an equal blend of gravity and curiosity.

"Murder on West 64th; apparently, the victim had "Olivia Benson" written on a name-tag stuck to her coat, and she looks just like Liv."

"Go...Keep me posted," both ADA's said in simultaneous response. Casey and Alex, without exchanging any niceties, left the office in silence to begin their weekends.

Alex wished she could say Casey was incompetent, but she wasn't. True, Alex had a slightly higher conviction rate, but she also knew that she had more political connections, five years more experience, and took far less risks. She also, as selfish as it was, hated that Casey could replace her. She wanted Elliot and Olivia to hate Casey, to consider her "not Alex." Instead, Alex was always the co-worker, always their "very resourceful ADA" while Casey was their _friend_. But of course, Alex wasn't jealous of Casey. _Never._

Casey wished she could say Alex wasn't as brilliant as they said, but she was. If and when Casey lost a case, the condolences from the detectives always felt non-verbally colored with 'Alex could have nailed this.' She hated that, as hard as she tried, she could never compete with a resurrected ghost. What worried her most, however, was that she was no match for Alex even had she not gotten on the cartel's bad side. Alex was brilliant, beautiful, and every defense attorney's worst nightmare, no matter how shaky the state's case. After a time, the detectives warmed to her, and even considered her a friend, but Alex was and always would be their ADA. But of course, Casey wasn't jealous of Alex. _Never_

* * *

_I hope you all enjoyed it! More to come (hopefully!) soon, but please be patient, school is really heavy right now with being a senior and all (whoever said that senior year is a breeze was SERIOUSLY diluted!)_


	3. Chapter 3

*****_ Heyy everyone! Sorry for the long time between posts, life has been insane! I'm going to TRY and make it sooner between updates, but with graduation and all that comes with it I honestly can't promise it will be a quick fourth chapter. Thanks for all who reviewed last chapter! They always make my life :-) _*****

"I am too damn old to be pulling these all nighters!" Munch exclaimed the following morning to his partner.

"At least you got a couple hours up in the crib," Elliot retorted, exhausted as he was answering the precinct's phone. "Special Victims Unit; this is detective Stabler."

"That's great; who is she?" Elliot replied to the voice on the other end of the phone line.

"Thanks for putting a rush on it, Melinda. We owe you one."

"Warner finished her autopsy," Elliot announced to the precinct, "The victim's name is Alyson Burke. She's a high school senior at Mount Saint Francis. Cause of death is blunt force trauma."

"Well, it's almost nine-o-clock," Olivia answered as she checked her watch, "Her parents are probably going crazy wondering why she never came home last night. We'd better do the notifications."

"Warner said they're listed as Lily and Philip Burke on the medical and dental records," Elliot answered, "Just give me ten minutes to find their address off the database."

"Munch and I'll head to her school, see if we can get anything off her friends and teachers," Fin suggested.

Before anyone could leave the precinct, the detectives were surprised to see a wide-awake Alexandra Cabot coming through the door. Alex long ago declared that Saturday was her morning to "sleep in" except for in cases of emergency (which occurred nearly every other Saturday).

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty rises!" Munch ribbed, glad to see his friend, "What brings you here so early on a Saturday?"

"I was up anyway," Alex responded playfully, and then on a more serious note continued, "Besides, with that murder last night I wanted to make sure I was available. The press is _really_ all over this."

"Thanks, but to need your help would imply that we have leads," Elliot replied, frustrated that no one could find an ex-con who looked good for this yet.

"That bad, huh?" Alex sympathetically responded. Elliot soon filled Alex in on what few details they already had.

"We'll nail him," Olivia chimed in.

"So, is Casey around," Elliot asked nonchalantly, eliciting a hard elbow from Olivia and Munch on either side.

"I have _no idea_," Alex replied with unmistakable venom. "I'll be in my office catching up on some paperwork. Let me know if you need anything." Though her voice softened, those that knew her well would swear that there was a slight emphasis on 'me.'

As if on cue, Casey walked into the office, coffees in hand. She looked surprised and defeated when she saw that Alex was already there.

"I _figured_ you guys would be up all night. I hope I remembered how you all take your coffee," She pensively stated.

"They already told me they're very early in their investigation and don't need anything from us yet," Alex spit, chilling the room with ice before the detectives could put their coffees to their lips. "I was going to go back to the office and get a head start on paperwork. I _suggest_ you do the same."

"I don't particularly like having people _suggest_ what I do or don't do," Casey began, fire burning behind her eyes, "But, I actually came here to observe some of the early interviews. I'm very hands-on."

"Actually, that sounds like a fine idea," Alex answered competitively, a sly sneer appearing on her lips.

With that, the six split into two even groups, Casey joining Elliot and Olivia to notify the family and Alex opting to go with Munch and Fin to the victim's school.

**Residence of Lily and Philip Burke**

**1800 North Main Street**

**9:56 a.m**

"I know this is difficult," Olivia gently asked, "but was there anything out of the ordinary recently? Was there any trouble with friends or at school?"

"Not that we know of," her father answered, trying to remain strong and composed for his wife's sake, "Alyson's always loved school and she and her friends Emily and Talia were like sisters."

"Did she have a boyfriend?" Elliot asked as nonchalantly as he could.

"Not at the moment," her mother answered, "She dated a little, but nothing really serious."

"Oh my God; there was something," Lily nearly exclaimed, "I didn't think anything of it at the time. She told me that when she was coming home from dance a few weeks ago, she stopped off to get an iced tea at Dunkin' Donuts and some older guy hit on her."

"I was a nervous about it, but she said she made sure he wasn't following her or anything and she locked her car right away. I think she found it more entertaining than creepy. This is _supposed _to be a safe neighborhood," her dad chimed in.

"Did she say what the guy looked like?" Elliot asked.

"I didn't ask," Lily replied, and then more tearfully, "Now I wish I had."

* * *

Four hours later, the SVU was re-assembled, minus Alex and Casey who returned to their office, and was busy discussing their leads. The constants: Alyson was a straight-A student, never in trouble a day in her life. Also, her friends provided more details of the mystery creep at the gas station. Apparently, he was shortish, white, bald, and somewhat overweight in his middle-age. In other words, one of the least distinctive men the detectives could _possibly _be faced with.

"Ok, so we go to the Shop and Go, check their surveillance cameras and find this creep," Olivia suggested, trying to be proactive.

"Easier said than done," Munch replied with characteristic pessimism, "No one remembers exactly when this happened, only that it was about a month ago."

"Besides," Fin replied, "How do we know this is a _murdering_ creep and not just your run-of-the-mill weirdo?"

"You're probably right," Elliot answered, "but for right now it's the only lead we've got."

Captain Cragen then left his office and joined the detectives, his no-nonsense demeanor easily capturing their attention.

"We've got another murder," Cragen said, his voice filled with anger and authority, "Victim's male, about 17. Nametag on his chest says 'Elliot Stabler.'"

"What the _hell_ are we dealing with here?" Olivia asked, more to herself than her co-workers.

_***** Thanks for reading! Reviews are SO appreciated! Love it? Hate it? Tell me ;-) *****_


	4. Chapter 4

*_Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay on the update, but life's been kind of crazy…I've been focusing all my energy and spare time on a) graduation, b)_ _last week's dance recital, and c) trying to get off the waiting list and into the class of 2014 at College of the Holy Cross (which is still a work in progress :-/ ). Plus, writer's block is a disease for which I have no quick cure. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter and don't hate me too much for keeping you waiting for such a long time!*_

* * *

Within the next half hour, the entire precinct, the CSU team, and Dr. Warner were at the murder scene looking for anything and everything to try and find their killer. Casey and Alex were even speaking civilly, though somewhat coldly, to one another as they hypothetically discussed how they could spin the little shreds of evidence that were collected thus far into probable cause for a warrant. The civility abruptly ended, however, when Casey was sure a warrant could be executed once they had their suspect, and Alex was equally sure they hadn't a leg to stand on yet. Before the conversation declined into yet another argument, Olivia and Elliot intervened, separating the two women and occupying them with the task of interviewing two teenage girls who found the body.

"I'll have to bring the body back to the morgue for more conclusive tests, but cause of death looks like blunt force trauma to the head – same as the first victim," Dr. Warner announced, "The fatal laceration is on the right side of the head like Alyson, meaning it was likely a left-handed perp for both. Looks like he was killed somewhere else and dumped here like last time– blood pool isn't consistent for being killed here. I can't say for sure, but right now it looks like it's the same guy, probably not a copy-cat."

"That's what we figured," Elliot answered, "The name-tag was our hold-back."

"The splinters in the head wounds are oak wood, same as Alyson," The rookie CSU tech announced, "Also, the fibers found on both bodies are identical. They're wool, most likely from a carpet. We're putting a trace on them now. We'll know by the end of the week if we can identify any makes or models."

"Do we have the name of the victim?" Cragen asked

"According to his driver's license, it's James Preston," Olivia replied.

"We'd better find out how he's scoping these kids out and fast," Munch added, "before he kills again."

"They're teenagers, so 'Facebook' and 'Twitter' would be a easy way to look for people" Finn suggested.

"Munch, Fin, check their social network pages, see if they have any suspicious looking friends in common," Cragen commanded, "Benson, Stabler, continue to look through recent parolees, anyone with a particularly sharp axe to grind."

* * *

"How about this guy, Aaron Hastings?" an exhausted Olivia Benson suggested four hours later to an equally exhausted Elliot Stabler, "He threatened to 'destroy' us after we charged him with domestic violence. He just got paroled last week."

"Sounds promising," Elliot responded, "Add him to the 'interview pile. How about Billy Michelson? Rape three, made audible threats against you and Novak."

"I remember that asshole," Olivia replied, "DEFINITELY interview pile. How many does that make now?"

"Twenty-six," Elliot answered with only a sight hint of exhaustion, "By the time we interrogate all these creeps the next victim will be dead."

"Maybe we won't have to," Olivia answered, "Munch and Finn are going through the facebook page and Novak and Cabot got the warrant for call logs of recent parolees, so at least we have something to work with."

"Is there any information on the mystery creep Alyson ran into at the gas station?" Elliot asked, desperate for leads.

"Not yet. CSU is going through the video surveillance and fibers now and we should get a call tomorrow with the results. But none of James' friends or family recalls him mentioning anything about a weird guy, only Alyson said anything."

"Maybe he only approached Alyson for some reason?" Elliot suggested, "Or maybe our perp didn't feel comfortable complimenting a fellow male's appearance."

"Damn it" Olivia said, "This is going nowhere…"

"Finn and I have something that may change that," Munch announced, "Both Alyson and James have a very _interesting_ facebook friend."

"Fred Coolrige," Finn continued, "Remember him? We thought he was pretty small-time, peeping Tom who was arrested about a year ago for stealing underwear from the woman's locker-room at 'Planet Fitness.'"

"Yeah, I didn't think he was anything more than just screwed up, not dangerous. Certainly didn't' peg him as a serial killer," Olivia thought aloud, "That's escalating a little fast, no?"

"Maybe the eight months in prison toughened him up?" Finn answered, "He definitely made no secret that he was pissed Alex got the charges up to first degree menacing."

"Only one way to find out," Elliot said, suddenly a bit revitalized with the new information, "Let's pick him up."

"My sentiments exactly," Munch chimed in, "I'll ask North and South Korea to get search warrants and meet us at Coolrige's apartment."

* * *

"I swear I didn't do anything!" an angry Coolrige yelled to a calm, cool, and collected Olivia Benson. If the nature of the crime wasn't so heinous, she would have been hopelessly amused by this man's appearance. He had skinny limbs which contrasted his massive beer-belly, which was accentuated by a "Guinness" t-shirt. To top it off, he was balding and wore the ugliest glasses she had ever seen (nothing like Alex's signature frames). To be honest, she didn't get the "murderer" vibe from him, but for now he was the only lead they had.

"This isn't looking good for you," Olivia began, "My partner is at your home and office with an entire team of investigators _right now_. If there is any shred, scrap, drop, of evidence, they _will _find it. What's the matter? Eight months in prison wasn't long enough for you?"

"I should _not_ have been locked up," he angrily spat, "If that blond bitch hadn't singled me out..."

"First of all, 'that blond bitch' has a name, it's Alexandra Cabot; Ms. Cabot to you," Olivia replied, "But you'd already know that, wouldn't you. Second of all, if you think eight months in prison is bad, wait until you spend years in prison while you wait for the needle."

"I didn't kill those kids," Coolrige desperately pleaded, "What do I have to do to prove it to you?"

"Easy," Olivia answered, "Explain why you're 'Facebook' friends with both of the victims and give me your alibi for last Friday and Saturday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm."

"I already told you, I don't know why I'm facebook friends with them; I've never met half the people I'm 'friends' with. I work from home, I was there all weekend."

"Alone, or can anyone vouch for that?" Before she could wait for a response, Cragen summoned her out of the interrogation room.

"What's wrong?" Olivia asked nervously, and then more hopefully, "Did they find anything?"

"They swept his home and office, some porn videos but nothing incriminating," Cragen answered, his face telling her there was something more, "But he's not our guy. We've got a third victim – Alex's younger cousin Stephanie."

"Poor Alex…" Olivia thought aloud. "Same M.O and cause of death?"

"She's alive, just shaken up," Cragen answered, "They're talking to her now at Alex's apartment. You should be there, too."

"I'm leaving right now," Olivia answered almost urgently, and then curiosity getting the better of her, asked, "How'd she survive?"

"Pepper spray," Cragen answered, "Her school's health class gave it out last week; convenient timing if I've ever seen it."

* * *

*_Hopefully you enjoyed that chapter! Whether you loved it, hated it, or were sort of in-between, PLEASE review! Don't MAKE me break out my puppy pout…Now that my graduation and dance recital is over, I will have PLENTY of time to update for my fantastic readers! Plus, I pretty much have the next chapter in my head already and have a basic sketch of where I want the story to go. So, expect an update by next Friday (the 23__rd__). Oh, I own NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING, though I will forever continue to dream :-(*_


	5. Chapter 5

_* Thanks to all who took the time to leave a comment last chapter(s)! Sorry I'm a little later than I promised; my mom ordered my new laptop w/out Word, thinking she had the disk, and recycled my old laptop...long story short, she already maxed out its uses so we had to wait a couple weeks to get a new program. As per usual, I own nothing. If I did, Alex and Casey would both be our ADA's forever and ever, amen. Oh well, maybe I'll buy the rights in time for the movie, see that it's done right…*_

* * *

"He was white, bald, pretty short, maybe late thirties. He kind of had salt and pepper hair on the sides of his head," Stephanie Cabot described as she sat in her cousin's apartment, "He was a little chubby, too."

"You're doing great," Alex consoled her rather shaken up cousin, "I'm gonna need you to tell me exactly what happened. If you'd rather just talk to me alone, that's entirely up to you."

"Thanks Ali, but I think I'm ok…I was at the ATM when I noticed this guy staring at me. He said something like, 'Alexandra! Alexandra Cabot!' as if he knew you. He started following me. I tried to run but he grabbed me from behind and started choking me," Stephanie described, trying desperately to maintain her composure, "I blacked out for a few minutes and when I came to, I was in his the back seat of his car driving on some highway. I think he assumed I was still blacked out. He stopped and got out to pump gas and when he came back in the car I sprayed him with pepper spray. It bought me enough time to get into the service garage to get help. Luckily the mechanic was really helpful, offered to kick the guy's ass after he called the police. The creep was gone as soon as he saw I got inside, though."

"Okay," Elliot replied, "Do you think you'd be able to describe the man to a sketch artist?"

"Probably," Stephanie answered, "I know I could identify him in a line-up, though."

"Do you remember anything about the car? Make or model, maybe?" Olivia asked.

"I almost forgot, I wrote some things down about the car once I got inside the shop," Stephanie said, pulling out a post-it from her purse, "The mechanic said it might help. It was a white Chevy van of some kind. The license plate read 'KV – 187,' New York registration."

"Well, Stephanie, I think we got everything we needed," Olivia concluded, "Here's my card – call me anytime if you need anything, or of course you could always call Alex."

"Aunt Sue and Uncle John are still in Europe, right?" Alex asked, "Why don't I stay in your guest room tonight like old times? Or you could always stay here. We can watch movies and pig out. It'll be fun…"

"Thanks, but I'll be fine," Stephanie responded, not wanting to admit how scared she still was, "Besides, I'll have Brandy with me."

"I really don't think you should be home alone right now," Alex countered, "And dogs don't count!"

"Alright, I guess I'd like that," Stephanie conceded, knowing better than to get into an argument with Alex, "Let's make it my house, though. I kinda want to sleep in my own bed, if that's ok."

"That's perfectly fine!" Alex answered, putting a comforting arm around her cousin. Addressing the rest of the group, she asked, "I'm going to take Stephanie home. Anything else you need before I go?"

"Not a thing," Olivia answered, "Go on, both of you get some rest!"

Once the cousins were out of earshot, Elliot, Olivia, Finn, and Munch began processing the new information.

"Got something over here," Finn added, gesturing to his iPhone, "Stephanie's Facebook 'friends' with our buddy, Fred Coolrige."

"He couldn't have attacked Stephanie," Olivia thought aloud, "I started interrogating him hours before that."

"I think maybe it's time to re-interrogate him," Munch added, "He obviously knows _something_. Maybe he's working with a partner?"

"It's possible," Elliot remarked, "But serial killers almost always work alone. Either way, let's pick him up…"

A few hours later, Casey and Alex were outside the one-way mirror watching Elliot work his magic on Coolrige.

"Look, I'm sorry if my partner was a little rude to you earlier," Elliot faked, "I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just trying to have a conversation."

"I already told you _both _everything I know," Coolrige responded, now cool as a cucumber, "Which is nothing."

"I understand that," Elliot responded, "We know you had nothing to do with the attacks; they were obviously done by someone with…a great deal of experience, intelligence; they were just brilliantly executed. I'm just trying to figure out how you came to be friends with all three of this man's victims?"

"I honestly don't know," he responded, "Strange coincidence, I suppose. I just accept friend requests from anyone who asks. I don't spend time weeding through them."

_Damn it,_ Elliot thought, _insulting their intelligence almost always gets these types to talk._

"Coincidence?" Elliot said, still appearing friendly, "Nah, don't buy it.

"Nothing to buy," Coolrige flatly ended, crossing his arms, "I want a lawyer." With that, he pulled out a cell phone and dialed presumably his attorney's office.

"Fuck," the two ADA's stated in perfect unison.

"I'll talk to Stephanie later" Alex said more to herself than Casey, "She'd know for sure how she became 'friends' with that scum."

"It's always possible she did the typical teenager thing," Casey replied, somewhat startling Alex out of her thoughtful observation, "You know, they just accept 'scum' without realizing the consequences."

"That's what I thought at first, too," Alex replied, "But Stephanie's usually really careful with that stuff. My aunt – her mom – is a nutcase with the internet, too…really overprotective."

"Sorry to interrupt your chit chat," everyone's _favorite_ defense attorney, Lionel Granger stated as he entered the room with a sneer, "But my client will be leaving now. Call me if you actually, oh, I don't know, have a case."

"Believe me," Casey retorted, "We'll be in touch…very shortly."

"We've got to find out who his partner is and fast," Elliot directed to Casey and Alex once Granger was out of earshot, "A look at his phone records would help…"

"We've got more than enough for probable cause," Alex responded, then checking her watch, asked, "I'm supposed to be at Stephanie's in half an hour. Could you get the warrant for his last month's phone records? Petrovski will sign it no problem. I'll owe you one."

"Yeah, absolutely," Casey responded, equally shocked as Alex that the two of them were civil for an extended period of time.

With that, Alex headed out, and Finn came up to Elliot, his face making it clear that he had information.

"CSU just called a minute ago," Finn announced, "Fibers found on the bodies are from carpeting used in the Chevy interior, just like Stephanie said. It was discontinued in the early eighties though, so we're looking for someone with an old-ass white van. Munch is running the plates Stephanie gave us right now."

"Were they able to get anything off the surveillance cameras?" Elliot asked.

"Nothing on Alyson's…camera ran out of tape about two months ago," Finn answered, "They found something on the ATM from Stephanie's attack, though. CSU wants us there in twenty minutes."

* * *

_Hope you guys liked this chapter! I'm hoping to get some good character drama in next chapter, so be on the look-out for a (hopefully) speedy update! Oh, and I've been thinking about relationships for the story…want them? Don't want them? Who do you want them to involve? Give me some ideas if you'd like, maybe they'll inspire me!_


	6. Chapter 6

*_Hey guys, how are you? I have no excuse for taking so long to update…feel free to shoot me, I'm horrible! First semester of college went amazingly – for those of you still in high school, you're in for a real treat! I'm home for a month between semesters, so I'm going to try to update frequently. Though, my writer's block may prevent that from occurring; we shall see! Either way, I hope you enjoy. Oh, and I own nothing…I tried to kidnap Elliot, Olivia, Casey, and Alex; but I was caught, and long story short there's a law suit pending ;-) Also, I gave more thought to pairings, and I've decided, in order to appease everyone, I'm going to do a type of "squint and it's there" relationship between EO and AC; nothing overt, just teasing like the writers of the actual show!  
_

While Finn and Munch continued searching through phone records, Olivia and Elliot went to investigate what CSU found. They desperately hoped it would be the breakthrough they needed.

"Liv, Elliot; over here," their CSU tech Moralis captured their attention, "We got your man on tape!"

The detectives watched the television closely, trying not to miss a single detail to the blurry display. They watched Stephanie use the ATM. Almost immediately after, a mysterious man entered his card and apparently made a transaction. He looked almost identical to the image Stephanie described to the sketch artist; shorter, bald, white, and somewhat overweight. _A perfect companion for Fred Coolridge_, Olivia and Elliot thought.

"We nailed him!" Olivia exclaimed, "Can you clear up the quality and send us a copy?"

"Done and done!" Moralis exclaimed, handing them a pre-printed photograph of the mystery creep.

Photo in hand, Olivia and Elliot returned to the precinct, hoping to nail the mystery creep and connect him to Coolridge.

"You want us to get a warrant for this man's bank account information?" Alex rhetorically asked, "No judge is going to sign that, Elliot. I'm sorry; any decent defense attorney is going to say he just happened to use the ATM."

"He matches the description Stephanie gave us to a T," Olivia responded angrily, "Why are you stonewalling us?"

"If Stephanie can identify the man in the photo as her attacker, I'll have probable cause," Alex answered. "Until then, we've got nothing."

"Ok, great," Olivia responded, "Just bring Stephanie to the precinct and we can set up a photo lineup."

"Stephanie's in Europe with her parents for the week. Rather than interrupt their work schedule, god forbid, they flew her to Europe with them for some personal time."

"What the hell?" Elliot yelled, "How could you let her leave the _state, _never mind the country? I'd think you of all people would want to nail this bastard!"

"Do you _really_ think I just let her go?" Alex asked, on the brink of tears. "I told her parents she had to stay in town until the end of the trial, but Aunt Jenny and Uncle Bill were absolutely insistent! There was nothing I could do."

"Couldn't or didn't want to?" Elliot asked. The detective and ADA stood in silence, shooting sharp daggers at each other.

"Alex, we should probably get going to the Kimball trial," Casey interjected before Alex could kill Elliot, "It starts in an hour."

"Yeah, we should probably get going," Alex repeated, trying to calm down, "I'll bring Stephanie by for a photo line-up."

As soon as Alex and Casey left, Olivia tore into Elliot

"Look, I'm pissed at the situation, too. But Alex is just doing her job, and pretty damn well, too," Olivia said, "Give her a break once in a while, won't you?"

"You're right, I was out of line" he admitted, "God, Alex is obviously a friend, but damn she pisses me off sometimes…"

"It's because she's as stubborn as you," she said, only partly joking, "But, if you don't start playing nice, Alex and Casey could transfer. Then, we'd have to deal with Greyleck or Paxton again!"

"Oh God, shoot me now!" he answered with a laugh, "Alex and I'll be fine, though. It's just how we are; we fight and don't speak for a few days. When it gets too awkward, one of us apologizes and we're fine within the week!"

"Until the next day; then you have _another _argument!" Olivia quipped.

Elliot playfully threw a box of tissues at her, which resulted in some crumpled up papers thrown in retaliation. Soon, the two star detectives were having a "soft office supply fight" until Cragen broke it up.

In the meantime, Casey and Alex were having a decent, but awkward, conversation on their way to the courthouse. They made small talk about the weather, their weekend plans, and other such meaningless trivialities. They still hated each other's guts; they had just learned to be covert and outwardly civil about it. Suddenly, Casey stopped as a thought popped into her head.

"Actually, can I meet you there?" Casey asked, "I just remembered I need to run a quick errand."

"Sure," Alex replied, "Just don't be late." Alex was thrilled about the prospect of walking alone, to be honest. Not only was Casey getting on her nerves (as per usual), but she was still seething over her fight with Elliot and just needed a long walk alone.

After what felt like forever to Alex, Casey walked in and took her seat beside Alex.

"Where the _hell _were you? We're starting in fifteen minutes!" Alex hissed.

"Sorry," Casey said, pissed at Alex (more than usual), "Took longer than I expected."

"Whatever, let's just get organized," Alex responded with a signature eye roll. While she was, in fact, curious, Alex allegedly didn't care enough about Casey to ask where she went.

After court, Alex went to the office to catch up on some paperwork, while Casey said she was going home for the evening. However, after the two ADA's said their curt goodbyes, Casey practically ran to the precinct.

"Hey Olivia, Elliot," she greeted her friends, "I've got something for you guys. Just don't tell Alex – unless you _want _my eyes clawed in and my teeth knocked down my throat!" With that, she pulled out the warrant for the bank statement.

"Oh my God, Casey, you're incredible!" Elliot exclaimed, "How'd you do it? I thought Alex said no judge would sign it?"

"Judge Kurtz owed me a favor," Casey answered matter-of-factly; "I think the ATM was Citizens, so any branch should be able to cross-reference his transaction information with his name, address, phone number- anything you need."

After an hour, the detectives obtained the name of the mystery ATM user and were all ready to nail one Charles Hanson to the wall. Suddenly, however; a seemingly calm Alexandra Cabot came into the precinct and made a beeline for Casey.

"Hey, Casey," Alex began, amazingly keeping her composure, "Can I see you in interrogation 1 for a moment?" Casey followed, realizing she was completely and utterly fucked.

*_Hope you enjoyed! Remember, reviews are the best Christmas present a girl could ask for ;-) PS: I'm wicked excited for next chapter, it's gonna be epic!_


	7. Chapter 7

*_look at me go….I actually updated two chapters in one week! Hopefully you enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed writing it! Oh, I own nothing, as per usual. Hmm, maybe Dick Wolf is selling? Let's check Craigslist….*_

"Look, Alex…I," Casey tried to begin.

"No, you don't get to speak! Lionel Granger was parading around my office arguing about a search warrant, which I didn't approve, and already scheduled a hearing for Monday! We are _going_ to lose, and our entire case is now _fucked_! A first year law student could refute this warrant, Casey; it has that little foundation. I don't know how the hell you got a judge to sign it, and I don't think I even want to know," After her tirade, Alex took a few calming breaths and massaged her tension headache away.

"I'm going home for the weekend," Alex finished, "By Monday we will no longer be working together. I don't care who has to leave!"

Elliot and Olivia, watching from the two-way mirror, ran away before Alex saw them. Neither detective had ever seen her that upset before! Alex, still shaking, decided to walk home to clear her head rather than take a cab. Casey just stood in the interrogation room for several minutes, too shocked and traumatized to move.

Even hours later, Casey could barely focus on the words on the page in front of her. A few stray tears escaped as she thought of how much she had screwed up. Honestly, Casey didn't remember what she had expected to happen. The negative consequences seemed so clear in hindsight. Finally, around 7:00, the guilt became too overwhelming. She decided to go to Alex in person, determined to apologize and recover what little civility they had.

Meanwhile, Alex felt no better than Casey, unsurprisingly. After her knee-jerk anger abated, all that remained was guilt and embarrassment. She saw the whole tirade as if she were an outside spectator, and kept reliving what a complete and total bitch she was. Casey didn't deserve that; at all. The warrant _was_ salvageable; and she wasn't going to pretend she hadn't drawn on well-placed family and acquaintances before. She prepared to return to the precinct and apologize profusely when she felt the familiar dizziness and "aura" set in. The whole situation caused her anxiety to flare, resulting in a nasty migraine. She grabbed a cold pack and a blanket and lay on her couch, able to do nothing but wait in the dark until her pain pills kicked in.

After what felt like days, the pain subsided; leaving only exhaustion. Alex fell into a deep sleep, but was awakened by her doorbell ringing about a half hour later.

"Casey, come in," Alex invited her guest. Casey was surprised that Alex seemed…well, not angry.

After a good deal of silent awkwardness, Casey broke the silence.

"So, I hope I'm not interrupting you or anything..."

"Oh, no," Alex said, "I actually just woke up from a nap."

"Really, you don't strike me as a nap person," Casey remarked, trying to delay the groveling she had planned.

"You know, I almost _never _nap," Alex said, trying to make conversation for the exact same reason, "but after a migraine, I always feel so damn _exhausted_."

"Oh God, are you alright? Migraines suck," Casey remarked, genuinely concerned, "Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you though," Alex replied, amazed that Casey could still be civil to her, "It's over now, thank God."

Again, the conversation dwindled into awkward silence. Both women realized that there was no more prolonging the inevitable.

"Look, I'm so sorry," both women said in perfect unison.

"Wait, _you're_ sorry?" Alex replied, "I'm the one who should apologize to you; I acted like a complete psycho bitch!"

"I deserved it!" Casey countered, "I had no right to go behind your back like that. Whether we like it or not, we're partners. I should have backed you up, especially since you were right about the warrant."

"No, I wasn't right. I was just petty and stupid," Alex explained, "Liv and Elliot were already pissed at me because Stephanie's gone. Then, when you got the warrant I flipped because…because you get to be their friend and I'm just the snobby, prissy ADA with a stick up her ass, as usual."

"You're kidding, right?" Casey exclaimed, completely shocked, "Liv and Elliot would dump me in a New York _second_ if they had to choose between us. They worship the ground you walk on. I was just so sick of being second, I wasn't thinking straight…"

"Well, it's a good thing we're partners," Alex said, "because if they had to choose between us, they would have a hell of a job trying to decide!" At that point, both women were out of words, so all that was left to do was hug and declare apologies accepted.

"Oh, have you eaten?" Alex asked, "I was just going to make one of those box lasagnas. Did you want to stay?"

"Sure, sounds great," Casey answered, her amazement only slightly showing.

Casey set the table while Alex prepared to cook the lasagna. Both women usually ate take-out, so they were shocked to find out that the frozen dinner took almost an hour to cook. However, they easily filled the time with actual, substantial conversation; not just the awkward niceties they usually exchanged at work.

About half-way through the meal, however, Alex's cell-phone rang.

"I should probably take this," Alex explained to her dinner guest with a laugh, "its Elliot; probably trying to make sure we haven't killed each other."

"Cabot. Yup, Casey and I talked and made up. She's actually having dinner at my apartment. Lasagna. Of course it's homemade! That's ridiculous, I can cook! Oh my God, that was one time, and the fire department only had to come afterwards as a precaution. Alright, alright, it came from the box, you jerk! Of course, you and I are "cool!" I'm sorry, too. See you Monday!"

"So, what's this about the fire department?" Casey said with a hearty laugh.

"It's not very polite to eavesdrop, Miss Novak," Alex jokingly chastised, "But anyway, when I first started with Special Victims, I decided to have the precinct over for dinner and try to get to know everybody. Long story short, there was a _small _kitchen fire because I burned the chicken. Even though I put the fire out, we had to wait outside in the freezing cold until the fire department could come and clear the building!"

"Oh my God, I'm sorry but that's fucking hysterical!" Casey managed to exclaim between laughs.

"It definitely made an impression, that's for sure!" Alex responded, able to laugh at herself.

The two continued sharing personal stories and joked around well into the evening. Finally, Casey checked her watch and realized it was almost 11:00.

"Wow, it's late, I should probably get going!" Casey said, feeling bad that she had monopolized Alex's evening.

"Thanks for hanging out with me! This was really fun!" Alex said genuinely. Surprisingly, both women were sad that their evening had come to an end.

Casey was back at her apartment within a half hour and quickly logged onto Facebook. As she was updating her status, a notice popped up, telling her that Alex sent her a friend request. Of course, this gave her license to creep. There were several photos of Alex, Olivia, and Elliot. A ton of hysterical photos came from the annual DA's office Christmas party. Her profile picture was, in Casey's opinion, stunning. It was a simple photo taken in central park. Alex wasn't wearing her usual work wear; just jeans and a violet sweater. Her blue eyes and blonde hair sparkled in the autumn sunlight, and her smile was soft, almost shy. Casey immediately accepted her request, realizing it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

_Hope you liked the interaction! I'm hoping to update another two chapters by New Year's Eve...for once, I'm not being pulled in one million different directions, so let's see how well I do at sticking to my timetable this time :-D_


	8. Author's Note

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be up for writing or much of anything…probably for a while. My best friend committed suicide the week after Christmas. I've known her since fifth grade; she and I were like sisters.

If you would, please keep your thoughts and prayers with her family. She was a wonderful, sweet, funny amazing person, who will be sorely missed.


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